The Ashley River/Rakahuri has been transformed from one choked with weeds to one that is safer and more resilient. Thanks to central government funding, we’ve been able to reclaim weed-infested riverbeds and support the local businesses who helped us deliver this work.

The Rakahuri and its associated tributaries, wetlands and lagoons are a special taonga for mana whenua, formerly known as the food basket of Kaiapoi pā.

As one of Canterbury’s globally unique braided rivers, the wider community also enjoys the range of recreational opportunities, including walking tracks, swimming and camping, provided by the awa (river). Commercially too, it is an area of significance, surrounded by productive farmland.

In recent years, weeds and pest trees have been choking the Rakahuri and Ōkuku River (which flows into the Rakahuri). This vegetation was a flood and erosion risk, occupying the channel and forcing floodwaters towards the farmland and existing infrastructure.

Thanks to the central government’s one-off COVID-19 response shovel-ready funding and local investment, we have been able to achieve powerful landscape-level change by clearing large tracts of weeds to increase flood protection and resilience in the face of a changing climate.